Marcet, Alexander, 1770-1822

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Humphry Davy (1778–1829, APS 1810) was a British chemist and pioneer in the field of electrochemistry. He was a major figure in the reformed chemistry movement initiated by the French scientist Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794, APS 1775).

Davy was the son of an impoverished Cornish woodcarver. As a youth, he was apprenticed to an apothecary-surgeon with whom he pursued a regimen of self-study that included theology, philosophy, poetics, several languages, as well as, botany, chemistry, anatomy, mechanics and physics. In subsequent years, when most of his time was occupied by scientific endeavors, Davy exhibited a particular fondness for philosophical writings and poetry. In 1799 he published his first poems.

However, it was Davy’s aptitude for scientific matters that soon attracted attention. One of the people who recognized his abilities was Davies Giddy (1767-1839), a Member of Parliament with scientific interests. Giddy eventually became Davy’s patron. He allowed his protégé access to his library; furthermore, he persuaded Davy’s master to release him from his indenture so that he could become the assistant to Thomas Beddoes, Giddy’s former teacher at Oxford.

In 1798 Davy joined Beddoes's Pneumatic Institution in Bristol which was established for the purpose of investigating the medical powers of newly discovered airs and gases. There, he made the acquaintance of fellow scientists as well as individuals with literary interests, including Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), Joseph Cottle (1770-1853), and Maria Edgeworth (1767-1849). In 1797 Davy read Lavoisier’s Traité élémentaire de chimie in French, a study that made a deep impression on him. Two years later he published an essay in which he refuted Lavoisier’s caloric; that same year he established his reputation as a chemist with his book Researches, Chemical and Philosophical, chiefly concerning Nitrous Oxide . . . and its Respiration in which he suggested that nitrous oxide (laughing gas) be used as an anesthetic in minor surgical operations. Davy had arrived at his conclusions after a series of risky experiments with different gases on himself. He described his “emotions” after awakening from the effects of laughing gas as “enthusiastic and sublime.”

Davy engaged in electrochemical experiments that led to several discoveries, including the recognition that the production of electricity was linked to a chemical reaction. He also isolated and analyzed the chemical elements potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, and barium. One of his best-known contributions to the field was his conclusion that, contrary to Lavoisier’s claims, there was no material basis for acidity. In 1810 he announced that the green gas contained in sea salt was an element. He named it chlorine.

As a strong promoter of applied science, Davy also engaged in various practical projects. He researched the chemistry of tanning, promoted improvements to agricultural practices, and developed a miner’s lamp that inhibited the ignition of the methane gas commonly found in mines. Furthermore, Davy was known as an effective lecturer. He made scientific topics accessible to an audience that extended beyond a small circle of fellow scientists.

Davy’s accomplishments were recognized with numerous awards and honors. In 1801 he joined the faculty of the Royal Institution in London. He became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1803, was awarded the Copley medal in 1805, and served as the Society’s president from 1820 to 1827. He was knighted in 1812 and created a baronet in 1818. He was also a founder of the Geological Society of London, the London Zoo and the Athenaeum.

Davy was married to Jane Apreece Kerr, a wealthy and well-connected widow. They did not have children. In 1829, he suffered a stroke while vacationing in Italy. He died a few days later.

From the guide to the Sir Humphry Davy correspondence, 1803-1822, 1803-1822, (American Philosophical Society)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf La Rive, Charles-Gaspard de, 1770-1834. Letters. Smithsonian Institution. Libraries
creatorOf Alison, Archibald, 1757-1839,. Papers pertaining to Charles Darwin and evolution, 1771-1821. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Alexander Marcet collection, 1818 Scott Polar Research Institute
creatorOf Sir Humphry Davy correspondence, 1803-1822, 1803-1822 American Philosophical Society
referencedIn Peschier, John, 18th cent. Letters, 1799, 1800, to Alexander Marcet. Duke University, Medical Center Library & Archives
creatorOf Colladon, Jean Pierre, 1769-1842. Letters : [Geneva, Switzerland], to A[lexander] Marcet, London, 1800. Yale University, Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library
referencedIn Cooper, Astley, Sir, 1768-1841. Correspondence, 1813-1853 and undated. Duke University, Medical Center Library & Archives
referencedIn Davy, Humphry, Sir, 1778-1829. Correspondence, 1803-1822. American Philosophical Society Library
creatorOf Colladon, Jean Pierre, 1769-1842. Letters : [Geneva, Switzerland], to A[lexander] Marcet, London, 1800. Yale University, Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library
referencedIn Bostock, John, 1773-1846. John Bostock letters, 1802-1822, to Alexander Marcet. Duke University, Medical Center Library & Archives
creatorOf Marcet, Alexander, 1770-1822. Letter, 1804, Jan. 17 : Vienna, to Alexander Marcet. Duke University, Medical Center Library & Archives
creatorOf Wollaston, William Hyde, 1766-1828. Papers. Smithsonian Institution. Libraries
creatorOf Luc, J. A. de (Jean André), 1727-1817. Papers. Smithsonian Institution. Libraries
creatorOf Davy, Humphry, Sir, 1778-1829. Papers. Smithsonian Institution. Libraries
creatorOf Pictet, Marc-Auguste, 1752-1825. Letters. Smithsonian Institution. Libraries
referencedIn Sir John Franklin collection, 1801-1845 Scott Polar Research Institute
creatorOf Alison, Archibald, 1757-1839. Papers pertaining to Charles Darwin and evolution [manuscript], 1771-1921. University of Virginia. Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Alexander John Gaspard Marcet person
associatedWith Banks, Joseph, Sir, 1743-1820 person
associatedWith Berger, Jean Francois, 1779-1833 person
associatedWith Berzelius, Jons Jakob, Friherre, 1779-1848 person
associatedWith Biot, Jean-Baptiste, 1774-1862 person
associatedWith Bostock, John, 1773-1846. person
associatedWith Colladon, Jean Pierre, 1769-1842. person
associatedWith Cooper, Astley, Sir, 1768-1841. person
associatedWith Cooper, Thomas, 1759-1839 person
associatedWith Croker, John Wilson, 1780-1857 person
associatedWith Davy, Humphry, Sir, 1778-1829. person
associatedWith Davy, Jane Kerr, Lady, 1780-1855 person
associatedWith Fabbroni, Giovanni Valentino Mattia, 1752-1822 person
associatedWith La Rive, Charles-Gaspard de, 1770-1834. person
associatedWith Luc, J. A. de (Jean André), 1727-1817. person
associatedWith Penneck, Henry person
associatedWith Peschier, John, 18th cent. person
associatedWith Pictet, Marc-Auguste, 1752-1825. person
associatedWith Royal Society (Great Britain). corporateBody
associatedWith Sir John Franklin person
associatedWith Wollaston, William Hyde, 1766-1828. person
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Beyond Early America
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Birth 1770

Death 1822

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